Recent news
The Other LA, The Whisky, February 1, 2017
Rock and rollers The Other LA are not from the City of Angeles at all, but hail from the State of Louisiana. On the road and living the dream, The Other LA made their way to the legendary Whisky A Go-Go on the Sunset Strip as part of a tour out to the West Coast. For this very special performance, the band found themselves opening for Flaw, and judging by the reaction from the Whisky early arrivals, it was obvious that The Other LA were making a whole lot of new fans and friends on the road trip to the Tinseltown. CJ Pierce of Drowning Pool is a champion of the band, and even plays live with them on occasion. Although Pierce was not present for this particular show, one could easily see why he’s been so supportive of this exciting band on the rise.
Kicking off their first ever set in Los Angeles with In My Dreams for their TOLA EP, The Other LA quickly captivated the Whisky crowd with the passion and energy. Surviving Soul was a one of the show’s many highlights, demonstrating how persuasive The Other LA is with a powerhouse ballad. Hallucinations definitely rocked the house, with the band announcing that this standout song from their TOLA EP would be made into a video. In addition to selections from their Self-Released EP, two new songs were unveiled – Vanish and Run Or Hide – adding tremendously to the TOLA experience. And then closing out their set was The Connection, a stunning track that clearly left a lasting impression on the Whisky audience.
The Other LA is led by two wondrously charismatic performers – vocalist Aria sings with a glorious amount of passion and intrigue while bassist and songwriter Clan McKenzie exudes a great deal of heart and soul into the proceedings with his vibrant talent, as well as unleashes the occasional yet intensive scream vocals. Drummer Quinten Roberts, lead guitarist Adam Burgess and rhythm guitarist Gerardo Prudhomme all bring the songs to an ultra-vivid with their thoroughly professional musicianship. In a live setting, The Other LA can really deliver the goods – it will be exciting to see what the future has in store for the wonderful collective ready to take on the big leagues. In the meantime, check out their TOLA EP and be sure to catch these guys and gal the next time they show up to thoroughly rock out on the Sunset Strip!
(Review by Ken Morton – Photos by Jack Lue)
TOLA's EP Release - TOLA - April 28, 2016
Hitting the stage on April 28th with Sensei and Lead Guitarist CJ Pierce of Drowning Pool, TOLA a 5 piece rock band will debut their 1st self-titled EP after a year in the making with HellYeah at the District in Lafayette. Fronted by ARIA the high flying rock muse/vocalist backed by McKenzie Lee and CJ Pierce of Drowning Pool, the band has been mesmerizing crowds in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Tennessee for 2 years. The music is known for soaring heights and melodic mix of heartfelt lyrics written only by a person who sees the world differently from most having been blessed with Asperger’s.
“I have never known a world without music. Whether it was singing the theme song to “The Little Mermaid” in our small apartment or surprising my parents that I could play the piano in the Greenville SC guitar center after getting lost, music has just been a part of my soul” - ARIA
TOLA has come a long ways since forming 2 years ago and playing their first show in a back alley venue in the heart of Cajun Country. In May of 2015, the band entered the studio with CJ Pierce of Drowning Pool to record their first EP. The first single of the new EP “The Connection” was debuted with a limited release to The Planet 105.1 where TOLA announced that CJ would be joining the band as co-writer and lead guitar when not on tour with Drowning Pool. The second single “Surviving Soul” is featured in the new film by Joey Travolta “Real People Scare Mee Too” to be released in May 2016. The band plans to release the EP in April of 2016 with CJ Pierce in support of their EP simply titled – TOLA.
TOLA’s has been busy playing and making a name for themselves performing with Revolver’s Hottest Chick in Rock Tour Lafayette stop (SickPuppies, Lacuna Coil, Eyes Set to Kill and Cliver), Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, A Skylit Drive, Framing Hanley, Drowning Pool, Myka Relocate, Eve to Adam, Smile Empty Souls, Fit for Rivals, Saturate, NoMara, Stitched Up Heart; and high caliber shows like House of Blues Music Forward Foundation New Orleans Showcase, Hard Rock Cafe Road to Barcelona (New Orleans Region), two Autism benefits (Houston and Lafayette) and Feed the Homeless Benefit (Lake Charles).
While the heart and soul of the band is ARIA and McKenzie Lee (bass player/songwriter) a more surprising feature has been the bands ability to showcase other local talent on a rotating basis for drums, lead guitar and rhythm guitar. While rotating so many members does cause chaos it is ARIA and McKenzie’s creativity that draws upon that chaos to create songs unexpected from such young souls.
AND SO ….. “We will keep on living the Dream” - ARIA
TOLA's Single - Surviving Soul - March 28, 2016
Coming to a theater near you - "NORMAL PEOPLE SCARE ME TOO" will feature the emotional "SURVIVING SOUL - ACOUSTIC" song by TOLA. The song reflects the struggle of living with Asperger's as told by lead vocalist and writer ARIA.
You loved the original... now, we are making a sequel to Normal People Scare me; a fil about autism. Taylor Cross is back to interview some fan favorites from the first film and can't wait to share where they're at some 10 years later. He'll also introduce us to some new aspies and auties.
We are THRILLED to tell you that our film crew will be comprised of austistice people from Joey Travolta's Inclusion Films. Who knew 10 years ago when we made the first film that we'd be hiring autistics to help an autistic make a film about autistics! We've come a long way since then.
